Wednesday, May 27, 2015

In case anyone was wondering where we are, last Wednesday we left on a trip to the east coast and since we travel by stand-by, we ended up spending the night at the airport before we could catch the final leg of our rip. That wasn't fun, but we survived!

I prepared some projects to work on during our travel to 3 different locations. Recently I have been doing some knitting and learning to knit socks. I finished the first one and plan to start the next one any day now. It involved a lot of ripping out of stitches as well as catching slipped stitches, but I got it done. The motto "finished is better than perfect" definitely applies here. Hopefully, the second sock will be easier!

I prepped some DJ blocks that could easily be done on a trip by hand - in other words, appliqué. I have completed the appliqué on 4 blocks and I think I have 4 more ready to go. As you can see, these blocks aren't trimmed yet. I have been wanting to get back to these for a while.

These pictures are from my cell phone, so aren't the best. We forgot the cord to download pictures from our camera, so I'm sure I will have some of those to show you when we get back.

The main purpose of the trip is to visit family, including grandchildren. So far we have experienced a birthday, museum visit and tonight there's a swim class before a little league baseball game!

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Saturday I went to a special event at Aurora Colony in Aurora, OR. A friend of mine had bought a ticket for this event and then was unable to go, so she gave it to me. It was a special day with Emma, who was a pioneer arriving in Oregon in 1853. Jane Kirkpatrick, author of the Change and Cherish Historical Series about Emma was there for a book signing, tour of the colony and speech about her books. Besides the Change and Cherish series, Jane has written numerous other historical novels and I have enjoyed reading some of them. I plan to read all her books and do recommend them to you. Here is her web site.

Emma Wagner Giesy House

I also had some time to visit a few of the many antique shops in Aurora.

Quilt in antique shop

The old Aurora Depot is now an antique shop.

Train Depot built in the 1800s

Another quilt in a different antique shop

It was wonderful to spend time with one of my sons and my oldest GD on Mother's Day (and of course DH). It was the first Mother's Day in several years that I have actually been with one of my sons. He took us out to eat at the McMinneman Hotel in McMinnville, OR and we ate in the restaurant the roof of the hotel. It was cloudy, but very pleasant.

View from the roof of the hotel.

I have finally gotten back to working on my DJ quilt! As I was getting some blocks prepped, I noticed this super easy one and decided to make it right away. I also came across the perfect fabric for it. I have 7 other blocks prepped for hand appliqué.

D-6

I have a little over 30 blocks finished and 6 triangles pieced.

My garden is in and is happy after a couple rainy days! Happy quilting and gardening!

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Sunday a friend at church gave out some poenies during our Sunday School class. Look how they opened up!

A few years ago when we were in New Hampshire I purchased a charm pack of 8" pieces of fabric. I decided to use those along with other fabrics to make a table cloth for our patio table. I used 36 different 8" pieces of fabric, mostly in blues and browns, but I decided to throw in a few "western" pieces.

Also this piece with the Texas flag on it. :-) I thought it was an appropriate remembrance for 30 years lived in that state. I quilted each square differently. I don't think the quilting shows up very well, so I'll take a better picture of it on the table for my next post.

We are painting our fence. The left side is how it looks now. The right side is before painting.

Another view. Not too much fun. We have a long fence, but little by little it will get done.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Today I will join the monthly Binding Blitz from JulieKQuilts. This entry is just part of some of the binding I did during the month. The table runner and 2 doll quilts will be listed in my Etsy shop. I used a charm pack from Moda (Laura's London Lawns II) for the table runner and there was some pieces left, so I made 2 doll quilts as well.

I'm also linking up with Creative Goodness Linky Party where we can also share our projects with others. Why not list something of yours on it also!

Moda Block Heads

About Me

I've been quilting more than 20 years, sewing most of my life. I've been married 54 years, have 3 married sons, 3 wonderful DILs and 5 grandchildren. I am now retired from the U. S. Court! DH and I enjoy camping in our 5th wheel. I have enough ideas to keep me busy for many years of quilting!